All In (8 page)

Before she could organize her thoughts, Cara opened
the bathroom door.

Mick leaned against the wall, gazing out the window.
Whitewashed jeans rested low on his hips. The pristine flesh of his back
twitched as he shifted his weight. The toned definition of his raised muscles
winked at her. He didn’t face her.

A cloud of silence hung over
them
,
filling the space with an awkwardness Cara hadn’t felt too deeply until now. She
needed to say certain things again, reminding him that she could carry her
weight.

If
that was true, I would’ve gone to Ken,
her inner
monologue argued. Cara shook her head, annoyed at herself.

“I’m sorry, I think,” she said softly, baffled over how
to resolve the incident.

Mick turned to her, his face expressionless. His
bare chest was a distraction, one Cara wasn’t accustomed to. She’d seen him
without a shirt a few times over the years, working in his parents’ mud-sodden
backyard and following an occasional run he’d take to try and stay in shape.

“I fucked up,” he said, his tone gruff.

“I told you I could take care of myself,” Cara said.
Her voice rose over his. She hadn’t meant for it to escalate. She was torn. Allowing
that conduct on behalf of the customer had been wrong. When she’d thought of
running to Ken, Cara was afraid he’d think that she was immature and unable to
handle things. Procrastinating and excessive reasoning had led to Mick losing
his cool.

“You should’ve come to me, given me a signal when
you were picking up an order or something,” Mick told her. His jaw tensed
around his words. Dark, wiry whiskers dusted his face. He rubbed his chin, looking
around the room, his gaze avoiding her.

“I thought they would stop, or … once I gave them
their appetizers they’d back off.” Cara sighed, looking away. Movement
flickered in her peripheral vision.

Mick’s bare feet brushed across the floor. The
roughened skin of his palm landed on her shoulder, sliding down her arm. His
touch sank deep, as if tattooing lines into her flesh.

“You didn’t like me stepping in?” he asked, his
brows pulled together.

“I don’t need a babysitter. I
told you before…”

“What do you need, Cara?” Mick’s question was a
rough whisper. His face closed in on hers. Minty breaths wafted in her face. The
smell of his shower clung to the insides of her nose, scenting every breath she
drew in.

What
does he mean?

“Well?” His other hand settled on her opposite
shoulder. Mick’s touch was a weight Cara had often wondered about, the
welcoming of a man’s body against and maybe over hers. Her hidden need awakened,
spreading a fluttering weightlessness throughout her body.

What’s
happening? This is Mick! We’ve been friends since we were like five!

His hooded eyes reflected an image Cara had never
seen. A facet of him was glowing, shining like a rare gemstone that was
suddenly being unveiled. The old cloak Cara always saw on Mick was now gone. He
was draped with something else, something frightening, yet thrilling. She
trembled, feeling a fault-line of excitement rip through her, tearing her in
two. Her mind ran in opposite directions. His gaze moved across her neck and
over her chest, her skin flaming in the path of his gaze.

Mick lifted one hand. His finger drew a slow line
over her jaw, down her neck, where it skimmed across her collarbone. He lightly
caressed the skin there,
then
looked up, a light now
illuminated within.

Cara’s lips parted. Words tangled in her mouth.
Unsure of their order, she remained silent.

Mick spoke again, his voice deep and thickening. “I’d
like to know what it is that you do need and might want. We should both let
each other in on that … don’t you think?”

Cara gasped. Her head felt dizzy, almost inebriated
with him, as if injected with white lightning. What was he exactly saying? Her
heart raced, pulsing in her throat. Was this the innuendo that she’d read about
so many times? Did he want that, and with her?

Chapter
Fifteen

He had her. He’d gotten her thinking. Cara stood in
front of him, her mouth open and speechless. Her chest rose, lifting the slight
curves of her breasts. Mick tried not to stare. He’d noticed her budding
nipples beneath her tank top when she’d emerged from the bathroom, how her body
responded to the cooler air of the room.

I have
to kiss her. Fuck it!

He couldn’t wait. She was killing him slowly. Mick
was dying from unspoken words and pent-up feelings. He was about to erupt. There
was much to lose, but if he didn’t take the chance, he’d never know.

Just
one kiss, something for her to meditate on.

Mick couldn’t reveal his knowledge of the books. He’d
act on that another time.
If there was a next time?

He leaned in closer. Her sweetened smell had him
chewing his cheek with a raw hunger. When their noses touched, her eyes clamped
shut. Mick grazed her chin with his thumb and index finger,
then
angled his mouth over hers.

She pulled a rush of air through her nose before his
lips touched hers. Her mouth was hot and moist, her lips gummy with a lip balm
that flavored his mouth like a sugared confection.

Mick so wanted her to touch him, even the slightest
stroke of a finger. Her hands hung at her sides, as if dazed by all that was
happening.

He felt her lips relax under his. Mick opened his
mouth slightly, not wanting to intimidate her. He lightly touched her upper lip
with his tongue, his insides quaking. His cock curled against his sweatpants. His
balls were full of fire, ready to surge with a release Mick had only ever been
able to imagine.

Cara had been reading her fantasies, but Mick had
been conjuring up some of his own. Not wanting to be greedy, Mick stepped back,
dropping his gaze to the floor. He turned, afraid of what her expression might
reveal, stepped into his sneakers and quickly reached for his shirt and wallet,
all with one sweep of his hand across the bureau. His pulse pounded in his
chest, his blood racing.

“I’m going to get a coffee and a hot chocolate for
you,” he said, clearing his throat and hastily leaving the room.

****

Cara put her hand over her mouth, stumbling back
until the bed forced her to sit, her limbs weightless, her mind reeling. Her
body was doing things it only did while she read. Now Mick had done those
things. These sensations were real and so much more pronounced when engaging
with another human.

Her breasts felt heavier, her nipples hard, like
darts. Her pussy was swollen, the apex of her thighs damp. Internal heat flowed
through her belly.

Cara stood on shaky legs. She walked toward the
window. Mick was already gone, but the effects of his body near hers, his kiss,
left an aftermath of sensations Cara wasn’t sure she could ignore.

How long had he been thinking of her that way? Cara
rubbed the sweaty heels of her hands down her thighs and began to pace the
small room. Were things between them going to move to another level? Could they
do that after all this time? The idea of what would come next gnawed at her
nerves. A panicked excitement fluttered through her body. The last time she’d
had any contact of that sort it’d gone badly, a dark memory that she couldn’t
shake. Mick wouldn’t do that, but he was a guy, and men were a part of the
population Cara didn’t have much experience with. Was a physical relationship
something she could take a chance on right now, being so far from home? If
things went badly the only place to run was back to The Hollow.

Cara spun and looked at the small, digital clock on
the nightstand. Mick was only going for coffee and cocoa. It seemed like he’d
been gone for hours. She needed to occupy her thoughts with something else.

Cara grabbed her pack off the floor and rummaged for
her book. Tim and Erin were shopping. Cara sat down on the edge of the bed and
dove into the scene.

****

“That’s gorgeous, baby,” Tim smiled, eyeing her
reflection in the mirror. He turned and locked the door, securing them inside
the small dressing room.

“Again?
Here?”
Erin said in a strained whisper. “You never get enough. You’re a naughty man.” She
wagged a finger.

“I could fuck you all day, every hour on the hour,”
Tim smiled slyly. “Now take that thing off so I don’t damage it before we even
pay for it.”

Erin pulled the sundress up and over her head,
placing it back on the hanger. Tim tugged his shirt over his head and fumbled
with his belt and khakis.

“I don’t know anybody who gets naked as quick as
you,” Erin whispered, giggling.

“I do it like nobody’s business.” Tim licked his
lips. He leaned into her ear, his breaths scorching. “Watch me fall to my knees
and gorge on your pussy, then we’ll fuck right in front of the mirror. How’s
that, babe?”

Tim did just that. He removed her thong, raising her
leg. He rested her foot on the small corner bench, giving himself access.

“Mm, so sweet,” he murmured. Tim crawled closer. Erin
looked into the full-length mirror, watching Tim’s tongue swipe through the
folds of her pussy.

“Oh, God,” she gasped. Her eyes rolled across the
ceiling. Airy breaths reverberated through the quiet dressing room. Tim’s
tongue combed her slit, swirling over her clitoris, always in his skilled and
decadent manner.

Erin could smell herself. The scent of her damp
arousal rose into the air. Tim’s tongue pushed up inside her, drinking from her
body. Cool air hit her tissues as he scrambled to his feet and spun her around.
Erin leaned on the mirror, her fingers splayed apart.

Tim’s knee pushed her legs apart. Erin arched back
into him, feeling his warm groin and the tickling of the soft hair there. His
laughter rained in her ear.

“You’re so in tune with me, baby. I don’t have to
say a word. Your body just molds into mine.” As he spoke Erin felt Tim’s cock
knife into her from behind. His body filled hers, taking ownership once again.

“Oh, yeah,” Erin gasped. Tim’s hips hammered her. His
mouth latched onto her ear, his declaration a guttural groan.

“You know what, baby?”

“Tell me,” Erin sighed, their bodies undulating.

****

The jingling of keys in the lock had Cara jumping to
her feet. She tossed the book into her pack, quickly reclined on the bed and
pulled the bedspread over her. She closed her eyes, waiting. The bedspread
lightly grazed her sensitive nipples. Her flesh flamed as every nerve
short-circuited. Cara licked her lips. Was her body parched, thirsting for
more?

Pretending she was asleep was a cop-out and she knew
it. She just needed more time to think. They were both confined to this tiny
room. There was nowhere to go. What she’d felt with him earlier, well— Cara
opened an eye to peek at her backpack. Those things only happened in books.
Real life was quite different.

But real l life had to be faced. Cara had no idea
how to navigate through the confusion.

Chapter
Sixteen

How Cara could sleep, Mick didn’t know. He was
wired, his mind and his dick doing battle. Had the kiss not had the same effect
on her? The thought was disappointing. Mick shoved it from his mind. He set her
hot chocolate down on the nightstand and then sat by the window, occupying the
only chair in the room.

Mick glanced back at Cara, her body neatly curled,
her hands beneath her cheek. Her breaths were a rhythmic hissing of air. He’d
have to drop the bomb tomorrow morning.

Ken caught him downstairs and pulled him aside. Apparently
the asshole he roughed up had already threatened to press assault charges. Ken advised
that they better be on their way by dawn if they wanted to avoid any further
hassles.

Ken had checked. They could get a train out. Where
they were going Mick wasn’t sure.

****

Once things downstairs quieted, Mick slipped out and
meandered into the vacant pub. He stood at the edge of the bar and waited for
Ken. As Ken looked up, their reflections caught in the dark front windows of
the pub. Ken turned and made his way toward the bar.

“Hey, Mick … you all right?” he asked.

“Yeah.”
Mick
felt his face tighten, still irritated over his behavior. Ken’s voice echoed
through the now tranquil rooms of his busy establishment.

“It’s just business, Mick. I also don’t want you and
Cara to have any trouble. You both served me well, believe me. I’d keep you if
I could.” He shook his head, his expression one of disappointment.

Mick asked Ken if he could use the computer in the
office and check the train schedule.

“Where’re you thinking of going?” Ken asked,
stacking the menus on the bar.